For my Love
by emeralda violeta
Summary: Set twenty years after 'breaking dawn'. all in jacob's POV. Renesmee is finally old enough for it to be acceptable for Jacob to extend their relationship. wha has been going on with everyone in the last twenty years? will Jacob get Nessie? read to find ou
1. Chapter 1

Ok guys. here is my new story. i know the first chapter is really long but i hope you guys like it. review and tell me what you think. Please, Enjoy.

Emeralda Violeta

Chapter One: Memories and Plans

I was sitting outside the cabin I shared with my beautiful Nessie and her parents, just thinking. Nessie's mom is my best friend, Bella Cullen. Her father is Edward Cullen; they are both vampires, now.

Looking back on the days before Bella married her vampire husband, got pregnant with Nessie, and became a vampire herself, I still cant believe it. Bella's dad and mine were best friends so we hung out a lot. I was actually the first one to tell her that she was in love with a vampire but I didn't believe it was true yet. Bella and I got really close when that idiot vampire Edward left her, he claims for her own safety. I fell in love with her and tried everything to win her but she couldn't live without Edward. I was crushed because she had chosen my enemy over me. I, as a werewolf, hated Edward. At first. Now, I'm glad that Edward won because if he hadn't, Renesmee wouldn't exist

After Bella and Edward got married, Bella got pregnant. I was mad. I thought that Edward's demon spawn was going to kill Bella. I watched as the thing I hated nearly destroyed the body I loved. It nearly did but Edward turned his wife into a vampire. I couldn't watch as he took my best friend, the girl I loved, away from me. Couldn't watch as he worked over her corpse. I went downstairs to where the blond psychopath, also know as Rosalie, had taken the little monster. I was fully intent on killing the creature that had killed Bella, its own mother. Until I saw her. I felt the pull toward her but I thought it was my desire for revenge that pulled me to her. Blondie held up the bundle and I was staring into Bella's eyes again. Immediately, the strings that held me to earth disappeared and I was held there now by that baby girl. Nothing else mattered to me anymore. Not my pack or my family or even the dead girl I loved upstairs. She was the only thing in my world.

Upstairs, when Edward finally had the kid out, he murmured, 'Renesmee' and now the name filled my head. I had imprinted on my best friend's half human- half vampire daughter.

I had always loved Bella's warm, chocolate brown eyes. I was really happy that Nessie had them. Nessie really was the most beautiful creature on the planet. She inherited the best traits from her parents. She got Bella's eye color, skin tone, blush, and heartbeat. Bella's eyes are no longer brown. She has no color in her skin. Her heart no longer beats. She no longer cries. All of these changes were made during her transformation to a vamp. Like the rest of her vampire family, her eyes are now a yellow color. She can't blush or cry anymore either. I miss all those things Bella isn't or can't do anymore.

I can't miss them too much because Renesmee does them or has them. She turned red as a cherry the first time I stole a kiss from her lips when she was fifteen. Bella still isn't thrilled about Nessie having a soul mate from the minute she was born. But she says she would rather have it me than anyone else. I think it's more that she doesn't want to have me claim her baby. She feels like I have more of a claim on her daughter than she does sometimes, I think. She knows she can trust me with her because of my love for Nessie.

The features she got from Edward are profound. The hard skin, perfect facial features, and graceful way a vampire moves are all hers. She is as beautiful and perfect as a vampire. But without the sharp, too sweet stink. I've actually gotten used to the stink; its part of my everyday life. Nessie has Edward's exact hair color but her grandfather's texture.

Bella's dad, Charlie, had thick, curly brown hair and brown eyes. Bella and I are both glad that a piece of Charlie still lives through Nessie. Knowing about the supernatural did not sit well with Charlie. He lasted for ten years, though. The man was tough. About two months before Nessie's tenth birthday, he died of a heart attack. That was also the day Charlie came to see the family and me play baseball for the first time.

Vampire baseball is one hell of a thing to witness. We have to play during thunderstorms because of the crash vampires make as they collide into each other. Like a huge boulder smacking into bedrock. For this particular game, it was guys vs. girls with Carlisle and Esme as refs. Bella was up at bat and she hits hard. None of us were paying attention to Charlie as we watching Bella slam that suck way out. Edward and I sped out to catch the ball but he was faster.

When we got back to the clearing, Edward froze. His face twisted in pain and I knew something was wrong. At first, I thought he was concerned for Bella because she ran into Emmett and was knocked off her feet with an earsplitting crash. He only had to say one word for me to understand, "Charlie".

Everyone in the clearing rushed over as Carlisle started shouting orders. It was too late to do much of anything and Bella refused to turn her father into a vampire. Said it wasn't what he wanted. She was on the ground holding Charlie's upper body to hers. Nessie had hold of one of his hands and I had the other. We had a small funeral for Charlie.

I'm not allowed to think any of these things while Edward is around. He gets upset over what happened that day and then Bella and Nessie get upset. He tries not to read my mind but sometimes he slips. Right now, it's safe to let my mind wander. Edward, Bella, and Nessie are on a hunting trip. I usually go with them. It's too painful to be away from nessie for too long. But today, I have to have time for private thoughts.

Tomorrow is Nessie's twentieth birthday and I need time to plan. We'll be headed back to Forks and the big, white house Nessie was born in. no matter where we go or how far we are from the family, all ten of us meet there every year to celebrate Nessie's birthday. Sort of a family tradition.

Tomorrow I will ask Nessie to marry me in front of the eight remaining members of her family. Eight vampires. I've kept these thoughts a secret because I want it to be a surprise. I'm nervous enough without Edward freaking out on me. I love Nessie and now she is finally old enough for me to have.

Among other things, I inherited the engagement ring that has been in my family since Ephraim Black married his wife. He had it made out of silver and the diamond is shaped like a heart. The words 'for my love' are engraved into the band. It would look very pretty on Nessie's pale finger.

I'm sure Alice will insist on planning our wedding. I kind of like Alice so it probably wont be so bad. Bella and Edward's wedding was pretty nice. Even though I was only there at the reception for about twenty minutes. I wonder what Alice would do for us. My plan is coming together nicely.

* * *

like it? hate it? let me know what you thought.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two: Alice Predicts We Are Going To Be Late So Let's Go!

I was thinking about weddings when I heard Nessie squeal in delight and anticipation in the distance. I had about a minute before they would come into view. I pushed my previous thoughts away and replaced them with thoughts of seeing Nessie and our upcoming run to Forks.

I stood up and held my arms out wide as the sound of Nessie's giggling came closer. she burst through the trees and ran straight into my arms. A giggle escaped her lips before they were on mine. The kiss was sweet and passionate. Bella was right about the best kisses being with someone who was completely and totally in love with you and you loved them just as passionately.

I had to end the kiss when I heard Bella and Edward approach. As I leaned away from her, Nessie stared lovingly into my eyes and pressed her hand to my cheek. She showed me her day and I could feel that, as always, she really missed me. I could feel her intense love for me even as she showed me how she took down the biggest elk in the herd she had hunted with her parents. She was a little proud of herself for getting a kill even bigger than her father's. I was so proud of her and I smiled at the memory.

In her beautiful soprano, Nessie whispered, "I love you, Jacob Black."

I kissed her again before whispering in her ear, " I love you, Nessie Cullen."

Bella and Edward came through the trees then. Edward frowned and I could tell he had heard my thoughts about Nessie.

"Yes, your thoughts about my daughter are almost as unsettling as the thoughts you used to have about my wife." Edward said in a hard tone. He was staring at me with hard, gold eyes.

"Daddy, please. If you don't like what you hear, don't listen." Nessie said as she playfully wrinkled her nose and wrapped her arms around me. Edward was about to protest when his phone rang. Bella reached into his pocket and pulled it out.

"Hello? Hi, Alice." Short pause as Alice talks. " Yes, I remember. Ok, love you too. Bye." We all looked at her as she hung up the phone. " Alice had a vision of us being late tomorrow. We need to get a move on." She explained before heading into the cabin.

I'm always glad that Alice can't have visions of my future. I need tomorrow's plan to be a secret for as long as possible. Having secrets when you were part of a family with a mind reader and a fortuneteller isn't easy. Nearly impossible.

Right now, it is about 2:00pm on September 9th, and we were somewhere in the middle of Oregon. We are traveling back to Forks on foot and we need to leave soon. I'm in no mood to let Alice's vision happen.

I went inside to retrieve Nessie's bags and mine. I brought them out and dropped them at her feet. I went into the woods and stripped off my clothes before phasing to my wolf form. The familiar heat coursed through my body and I landed on paws. Nessie was there now and I watched as she put my clothes into my bag. I nuzzled her hair, smelling her sweet scent. It was similar to her mother's when Bella had been human. The freesia scent was mixed in with the scent of honey and sunshine. It was a mix of Bella's human scent and Edward's but it didn't burn my nose.

Nessie stroked my fur and kissed my black nose. I adore her. Nessie is my entire world. She smiled as I pulled her closer to my neck with my muzzle. She wrapped her fingers into my fur and I yipped happily.

We headed back to the cabin. Bella and Edward were locking up. Nessie secured our bags to me in the normal way we did it. It felt like saddle bags on a horse to me. She jumped onto my shoulders very grace fully.

" We all ready?" Edward asked. We all nodded. " Then let's go."

We started off running. We were headed north. Headed toward home.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three: Man, Sometimes I Wish These Vampires Didn't Have Powers! The fortuneteller is almost always right and the mind reader is on to me.

We stopped for the night just before midnight to let Nessie and me sleep. I phased back to a human and found some clothes before joining the other three. My watch beeped as a signal that it was now September 10th.

I took Nessie's hand and said, "Happy Birthday, sweetheart."

She smiled and kissed me before replaying the scene. She was really happy about her birthday. The three of us took turns wishing her a happy birthday and hugging and kissing her. Bella laid out a tarp and a blanket for us. Nessie fell asleep in my arms shortly after we laid down on it.

When I woke up, it was five in the morning. Shit. Alice was right again. We were going to be late. We were still an hour and a half away from Forks and we were supposed to be there in an hour.

I got up carefully and picked Nessie up off the tarp. I carefully gave her to Edward so we didn't wake her up. My beautiful angel stayed asleep, thankfully. I threw off my clothes and phased to my wolf form again. Bella took care of my clothes and the tarp. She secured the bags to me and Edward put Nessie on my shoulders.

About fifteen minutes away from the house, I started to smell other vampire's scents besides Bella and Edward's. I haven't smelled these scents in a while. I could smell the other Cullens but their scents were mingled with eight other vamp scents. I wasn't worried, these were scents of friends.

I remembered who they belonged to and glanced at Edward. He nodded that I was right about who the scents were from. Great. Besides the eight Cullens, eight more vampires were going to witness what I'm going to do later. I need to be careful not to think about it until I do it. Should I get Edward and Bella's blessing first? They would probably appreciate it.

I felt Nessie stir against me and yipped happily. She scratched my ear and said, " good morning, Jake." She yawned and greeted her parents, "good morning, momma and daddy."

"Morning, Happy Birthday!" they said in unison. As always, Bella and Edward were holding hands as they ran together. Before Nessie, this would have bothered me. Now, it was normal to see them like that.

I could hear the smile in Nessie's voice as she said. "Thanks. Oh, yay! We're almost home!" she bounced with joy on my shoulders. I could see the house now.

"Bella, why don't you and Nessie continue on to the house? I'll help Jacob with the bags." Edward offered. I was a little confused by Edward's offer but I stopped anyway to let Nessie off. She kissed my nose before turning in the direction of the house. She and Bella took off running. Edward started taking the bags off of me.

When the girls were out of hearing range, Edward said, "So, what do you have planned for later?"

'That is a surprise' I thought at him.

"Jacob, whatever it is that you want our blessing on, please talk to us first." Edward said as he finished taking the bags off me.

I phased back into a human so I could speak for myself, "ok, I need to talk to you and Bella privately. I want you both there so drop it and don't read my mind." I was digging out some clothes as I spoke. I needed to keep my mind preoccupied and my face down so he couldn't read either.

"Fine, but hurry up. We are already late." Edward snapped.

I put on the clothes I had just fished out and grabbed my bag. Edward grabbed the other bag and took off down the driveway. He was fast and irritated. I guess he should be. I just asked him not to read my thoughts. Man, I wish he couldn't do that at all. Whatever, I better get to the house.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four: Well, That Was Unexpected

When I reached the house, I could hear Nessie's squeals of joy from inside. I let myself in, nose burning a little because of the three different covens of vampires assembled in the living room. Of course. I expected this but the smell still made my nose wrinkle in disgust. I was used to smelling Bella and Edward but I couldn't ignore the too sweet scent of all of them. Every one of the Cullens were there, not surprising. All five of the Denalies were there too. The Denalies were sort of like cousins to the Cullens because of their diets. The Cullens and Denalies are the only vampires, as far as we know, in the world that drinks animal blood instead of human blood. They joke and call themselves vegetarians. They stay away from normal vampire diets. It makes them able to be around humans, to be 'safe' vampires. The animal blood also gives their eyes a gold color instead of the traditional red.

The third coven in the room was definitely not vegetarians. I stared at the ruby eyes of the three females that made up the Amazonian clan. Nessie was hugging the biggest one, Zafrina, and it made me nervous to have her that close to such a wild looking vampire. I couldn't do anything about it. Those two had really bonded during the month we had nearly thirty vampires here waiting to make a stand against the Volturi. They thought that Nessie was a human child who had been turned into a vampire. It's against vampire law to create such a thing and they were coming to destroy her and all of the Cullens. They didn't know that Nessie was half human and half vampire and the Volturi were just dying to have an excuse to destroy the Cullens. They couldn't find a reason to destroy us so they left us alone and Nessie became very close friends with Zafrina. Just because she was a friend didn't ease my nervousness though.

Carlisle came over and shook my hand as the others greeted each other. When Nessie saw me standing at the edge of the room, she pulled me in to stand next to her at the center of the group. She kept my hand as she talked to the rest of her friends and family. I could feel her happiness at seeing them all; the huge grin was a dead giveaway. I sort of felt like I was intruding on her family time but she didn't drop my hand.

Then Edward gave me the way out, "Nessie, you wont mind if Jacob, Mom, and I leave you here for a minute, will you? We need to get settled in the cottage and retrieve your birthday present."

Nessie stuck out her lower lip but said, "If you must. Don't be too long, ok?" she squeezed my hand and kissed my cheek.

I grabbed the bags and followed Bella and Edward to their little cottage. No one spoke until we were all inside. Bella started moving toward hers and Edward's bedroom but he stopped her and pulled her to the couch in the living room. They sat down on it, Edward waiting and Bella looking confused. I took the armchair and angled it to face them, keeping the coffee table between us.

"Ok, Jacob. I know you have something you need to discuss with us. Let's be quick about it so we can be back before anyone notices how long we are taking. Get on with it." Edward said in a sharp voice. Bella looked from me to Edward in confusion, clearly not understanding what was going on.

"Alright, I was going to do this with a little more class but I've been forced into the direct approach. I want your permission to marry your daughter." I used a polite voice and kept eye contact with them. Bella looked mildly shocked and I could hear a low growl coming from Edward's chest. I knew he wasn't happy with the idea of me as his son-in-law.

Bella was now frozen in thought on the couch but Edward didn't hesitate. He was up and pacing fast with his hands clenched into fists at his sides. Edward's nostrils were flared in anger and it was obvious that his face would be bright red if that were possible.

"I knew this would happen! I knew that someday you would try to take my daughter away just like you tried to take her mother away from me. What else do you want that is mine? You married to my daughter!" Edward shouted, still pacing. He started speaking a language I had never heard before. I tried to figure out what he was saying; it sounded like he was cussing me out.

"I think it's great," Bella's voice came quietly but confidently. She had startled Edward and me both. I smiled at her. At his wife's words, Edward stopped dead. He turned on her very quickly. Not only was he furious at me, but at Bella now, too.

"What?!" Edward thundered at her. " You want him to take our little girl away from us? Are you that willing to give her up?" This surprised me. I had never heard Edward shout at Bella ever.

Bella got to her feet very gracefully and grabbed Edward's face in her hands. They stared into each other's eyes. Bella had a look of deep concentration on her face. She was clearly sharing her thoughts with him.

It was time for me to give the speech I spent all yesterday morning preparing to give.

"Bella, Edward, I don't want to take Nessie away from you. I love her so much and I know that it would kill her to be away from you for too long. I want to make her happy. I've been really good about waiting for her. I've waited twenty years for her. I'm thirty-six and still a bachelor and a virgin.. I've never wavered in my devotion to your daughter and I never will. I need her like I need to breathe. Please let me marry your daughter. No one will ever love her more than me, I promise you that." As I talked, Bella continued to smile warmly at me. Her expression was the exact opposite of her husband's, though. Edward was glaring angrily at me. He looked like he wanted to punch me. Before he could yell at me again, Bella spoke.

" Jacob, obviously Edward and I don't like the idea of our little girl growing up and getting married. I couldn't think of anyone good enough for our precious daughter-" Bella said before Edward interrupted.

"That's right. I hate that idea. There isn't anyone good enough because she is far too precious-" Edward said fiercely before Bella cut across him.

" Edward please." Bella said to him. She turned back to me after Edward folded his arms over his chest and pressed his lips into an angry line. "Jacob, if I were ever going to give my daughter to anyone else, ever trust anyone else to take care of her, it would be you. You were the one I chose when the Volturi threatened us and I still stand by that decision. My best friend is going to marry my daughter. You are the best guy I could imagine for my daughter, Jake."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing and neither could Edward. I thought I would have to argue this out with them before I heard that. Edward and I stood there, gawking at Bella.

"Jacob you have my blessing to marry Renesmee." Bella said, still beaming at me. I was really happy to hear that. I pulled her to my side of the coffee table and hugged her. She returned my hug.

"Thank you. Thank you so much, Bella. I will take excellent care of her." I promised.

" I know you will." Bella said as she let go of me. We smiled at each other before looking at Edward. His posture was rigid and he was scowling. Bella gave him a meaningful look and placed her hands on the sides of Edward's face again. She was sharing her thoughts again and I couldn't help wondering what they were. Edward took her hands in his and nodded before looking at me. He had softened under her touch.

"Ok. Bella is right. Jacob you are not perfect but you are the one Renesmee wants. You are perfect for her. I guess she would kill me if I stood in between the two of you. I suppose you have my blessing." Edward said as he held out his hand to me. I took it and shook vigorously.

"Thanks. Now do what you two need to do so we can get back to the house." I said as I continued to beam at them. I decided that I was going to propose at the exact same moment I imprinted on Nessie. It was 8:35am now and I had imprinted at 3:08pm. I didn't even have the ring yet. I had left it with my sister, Rachel, along with most of my things when I left. I needed to go to La Push to get it. How was I going to get Nessie to let me go to La Push without her on her birthday?

Edward answered my thoughts. "That is a good question. You could tell her that you need to get something from your sister and to let them know that you are in the area. Technically, it wouldn't be lying to her." I thought about that for a second.

"That's not a bad idea. I should probably wait for a few hours, though. Nessie would have a fit if I told her I had to leave as soon as we got back to the house." I replied. He grinned.

"You got that right. She would be furious. Be careful how you tell her." Edward warned me.

I hadn't noticed Bella had left the room until she came back. She was holding a large, white envelope. I guessed that it was Nessie's birthday present.

"Come on, boys. Let's get back to the party before they send someone to look for us." She joked. We left the cottage and headed back to the big house.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five: Sorry Honey. I Got To Go to La Push To Get Your Present

When we got back to the house, there was a pile of presents on the table in the center of the room. Everyone was waiting for us so that Nessie could open them. She was sitting in one of the armchairs, looking really excited. I went and sat on the arm of her chair. She smiled and grabbed the front of my shirt. She pulled me down to her and kissed me.

"That is number one. You owe me nineteen more kissed today because it is my twentieth birthday." Nessie told me with a giggle.

"Fine by me. Here's number two." I said and pressed my lips back to hers.

I heard several people huff in annoyance. Some people did find it sweet, though because there were one or two awes.

Then Emmett yelled, "I didn't fly all the way from Greece to watch my niece make out with her werewolf mate. I came to celebrate her birthday. Come on Nessie, start opening your presents."

I looked up to glare at him. He was smiling wickedly at me. Rosalie elbowed him in the ribs.

"I second on that!" Garrett shouted from across the room. He was standing with the other Denali's, looking uncomfortable.

I pushed back Nessie's hair to whisper in her ear. "Later." Then I kissed her ear. She giggled and nodded.

"Ok bring on the presents." Nessie shouted. Unlike her mom, Nessie likes receiving gifts and attention but knows when it's enough.

"Here baby. This is from your mother and me." Edward said and handed her the envelope they had taken from the cabin. Nessie took it from him and opened it. Inside were plane ticket vouchers, two of them. Nessie and I both stared at them.

"We are paying for you and Jacob to spend a week in the Amazon with Zafrina, Senna, and Kachiri." Edward explained. Nessie squealed and jumped into Edward's arms gracefully. He kissed her forehead before passing her from his arms into Bella's.

Nessie sat back down after thanking them and grabbed the closest present to her. It took her half an hour to open all the presents because there were a lot of them and she had to get up to hug everyone.

"Hey Jacob. I didn't see Nessie open something from you. Didn't you get her anything?" Emmett asked loudly.

"Yeah. Don't I get a present from you?" Nessie asked, her lower lip stuck out. I traced her lip with my finger. She stared into my eyes.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart. You are going to have to wait for my present. I have to go to La Push and get it from my sister." I told her. Her face fell in disappointment. I hate that look.

"You're leaving me? She asked sadly. She let out a moan of sadness.

"I won't be gone long. Maybe an hour tops. I won't miss anything important, sweetheart. Hey, what time is it?" I asked her. She made a face at me before glancing at the watch I gave her for her eighteenth birthday.

"Its 9:28. When are you leaving?" she asked me. Nessie didn't want me to leave but I had to.

I took her face in my hands and, "I won't leave until 10:45. I promise I will be back no later than noon. Maybe if Rachel is in a good mood, she might make me lunch." I kissed her lips, sealing my promise.

"I guess it's ok if you are going to be getting my birthday present." Nessie said, rubbing her nose to mine. That is one of the many things I love about her. She is logical and teasing at the same time.

"Ok let's play some games." Alice announced. We played vampire tag in the woods for a while. Next, the Amazonians taught us a game they like to play. It was something between hide and seek and capture the flag. I really liked that game but I had to leave after the first round.

"Meet us in the clearing at noon. We can teach the Amazonians to play baseball." Edward said before he went to hide the flag again.

"Sure, sure." I called after him, and then turned to Nessie. "Have fun, ok? It's your birthday, smile honey." I told her as I tried to push the corner of her mouth up. She held my hand to her face.

"Ok, I'll try. You better go so you can come back to me sooner. The next round is starting anyways." She said, smiling at me.

" That's my girl. Go have fun with your friends and family. I'll be back soon." I promised her. We smiled at each other. She nodded and I leaned down to kiss her before going into the woods, leaving her there.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six: I'm Off To La Push. If I Don't Come Back At Noon, My Sister Killed Me

When I was out of view, I hid my shoes in a hollow tree and tied my clothes into a bundle. I tied the bundle up with a cord attached to my leg. I phased and ran toward my former home. When our dad died, Rachel got the house. I didn't want it because I wouldn't be staying in the area and Rachel was. She lived there with her husband, and my former pack mate, Paul and their kids. They had a daughter, Emma, who was fifteen and a son, Billy, who was twelve. Billy was named after mine and Rachel's dad. He looks a lot like his grandfather.

When I was half a mile from the house, I phased back to human and put my clothes back on. It didn't take long to get to the front yard. It was so familiar. I grew up in that house. It was the house Bella and I had spent long, lazy afternoons in during what she calls her personal dark ages when Edward had left her to give her a normal life. There was the garage we spent hour working on our bikes and my old car. I sold the car before I left but I think the bike is still in there. Not much has changed to this place.

Billy was there in the yard, raking leaves. He was whistling a cheerful tune I didn't recognize. I paused to watch him in his carefree adolescence. Sometimes I miss being a kid; the kid I was before the wolf gene kicked in. I hoped he would never go through that but I don't think it will happen. In about two years, that happy, carefree kid would probably be a wolf roaming around in the woods and wondering what the hell happened to him. Poor kid. I hate to think of that.

He looked up after a minute and saw me. "Uncle Jake!" he shouted and dropped the rake. He ran over to me and threw his arms around my waist. I wrapped my arm around his neck and scrubbed my knuckles into his head.

"Hey kid. Long time no see. How's it been?" I asked him. Billy wrenched himself out of my hold and moved to stand in front of me. He was still small and wiry. His frame was very similar to mine when I was that age.

"Yeah it has been a long time. What brings you by?" he asked me with a smile.

"You caught me. I need to get something from here. Is your mom home?" I explained.

"Sure, sure. She's in the kitchen cooking lunch. Are you going to stick around for that?" Billy asked with hope in his eyes.

"Yeah, I guess I could spare the time to eat lunch with my family." His eyes lit up at that. I ruffled his hair as I walked pat him to the house. I didn't bother to knock as I opened the door; it was partially my house too and I was used to just letting myself in. Rachel was standing at the stove stirring a pot. It smelled really good.

She heard me close the door and thought I was Billy so she shouted, "young man, you had better be done with those leaves. I told you not to come back in until they are taken care of." She didn't turn away from the stove as she shouted that. I smiled. Rachel hadn't changed much since the last time I saw her.

"I think thirty-six is a little too old for me to be called a young man." I said, laughing. She jumped at the sound of my voice. Rachel turned around with the spoon still in her hand. When she saw me, she smiled and came to hug me.

Rachel pulled away and hit me with the spoon saying, "Why don't you visit more often? Do you know how much Billy looks up to you? You need to spend more time with your niece and nephew." Rachel looked irritated and was prodding me with the spoon roughly.

"Ok, ok. If I promise to spend the entire day here tomorrow, will you stop yelling at me?" I asked her.

She looked at me strangely and said, "Why don't you spend the day here today?" Damn it! I was hoping she would be satisfied with tomorrow and not ask for today.

"I'm sorry, sis. I can't today." I told her. She was angry now.

"Why did you come today if you weren't planning on staying? I have half a mind to throw you out of my house." She was pretty pissed.

I sighed and explained, "I need to meet Nessie and the others at noon. I'm here until then. It's her birthday and I need to get something I left here. I need the ring." Rachel stared at me for a second.

"So those vampires get more time with you than your own family? Are they more important to you than we are? I cant believe-" she shouted angrily at me before I put my hand over her mouth to silence her.

"Rachel, my family is important to me. But Nessie is my number one priority. I need the ring because I am going to ask her to marry me today." I told her, keeping my hand over her mouth as I spoke. Her face lost the red tint it had before as she began to understand.

Rachel moved my hand to speak, "oh. Well, in that case, congratulations. Sit down and make yourself comfortable. I'll go get the ring for you. Paul and Emma will be back soon. Are you staying for lunch?" she moved toward the back of the house. Paul had added an extra bedroom and bathroom just before Billy was born. Rachel headed to that bedroom.

"Yeah, sure. Thanks, I was hoping you would feed me." I called after her as I sat down in a chair at the table.

"Why didn't you bring Nessie with you? I always like chatting with her and Bella. By the way, how are they?" she called as she shuffled around in her room.

"Nessie and Bella are both fine. They are spending time with the rest of the family. I haven't proposed to Nessie yet. I just told her I had to get her birthday present from you." I explained. She was walking she was walking back into the kitchen now, carrying a small, black jewelry box.

"Here it is. When are you going to propose?" she asked as she took a seat across from me at the table. Rachel set the box on the table in front of me. I grabbed it and put it in my pocket.

"Thanks. I'm going to do it at the same time and in the same place I imprinted on her. 3:08pm in the Cullen's living room." I told her.

"Oh, that is really sweet. Please bring her here tomorrow so we can celebrate." Rachel crowed.

"Sure, sure. Nessie would-" I said before I was interrupted.

"Honey, we're back!" Paul shouted from the door. Obviously he had not seen me yet because he moved instantly to Rachel's side and kissed her.

"Paul, we have a visitor." Rachel tittered nervously.

"Uncle Jake!" Emma squealed as she ran to me. I stood up and hugged her.

"Hey, baby doll." I said before planting a kiss on her cheek. I had always called Emma baby doll because she looked as small and sweet as a doll.

"I missed you a lot." She said and then looked around. "Hey, where's Nessie?"

"She's with her family. But we will both be spending the day here tomorrow."

"Yay! I can't wait to see her." Emma had a large smile on her face. She was only five years younger that Nessie and they were really good friends.

"Hey Jake. I thought I smelled a vampire." Paul joked.

"Ha ha. No vampires in this house." I said and punched his arm.

"Sure. I can still smell traces of wolf under the vampire stench. How are the Cullens anyway?" Paul was curious if they were all here.

"Everyone is fine. There are sixteen vampires total at the Cullen house. That isn't including Nessie." I told him.

"Sixteen? Who are the other eight?" Paul wanted to know. He knew that the first eight were the Cullens.

"The five Denali's and the three Amazonians are here." I told him. "Everyone is here to celebrate Nessie's birthday."

"I suppose that's why you are here too." Paul said with a scowl. He didn't like the idea of so many vampires down the road or that I was in league with them but he was trying to be nice about it.

"That and other reasons." I replied, squeezing Emma. I didn't want him to know my real reason for being here, not yet.

"Lunch will be ready in ten minutes. Paul, will you go check on Billy?" Rachel said from the stove.

"Sure, honey." Paul said and went outside.

"Uncle Jake, come see the painting I entered in the art fair last spring. It took second place." Emma said excitedly and started pulling me to her room.

"Oh, we have an artist in the family, huh?" I commented and followed her.

The painting was a wolf, alone on a mountain, howling at a silver moon. The wolf was big and had russet colored fur. It was me.

"You were my inspiration for this, uncle Jake. I started this after the last time I saw you as a wolf. I'd like to sketch as a wolf if you'd let me." Emma stared at me to see how I would react.

"Sure, baby doll. Tomorrow you can." I told her and smiled. " I really like the painting. I'm flattered." She smiled widely up at me.

"Lunch is ready!" Rachel called. The five of us sat down together and Rachel served us all homemade tomato soup and bread filled with ham and cheddar cheese. It was really good. It had been a long time since I had eaten anything besides raw animal meat. And even longer since I ate at a table.

While we ate, we talked about things that had happened since the last time we were all together. We told stories and caught up on each others' lives. It was great to see them all again. I had missed them all more than I realized.

I looked at the clock and nearly swore. It was 11:48am.

"Oh man. I'm sorry but I gotta go. I promise I'll be back with Nessie tomorrow at nine." I said as I stood up. I shook hands with Paul then hugged Rachel, Emma, and Billy. I ran out of the house, pulling my shirt off as I went. I turned back to the house and waved at them before heading into the trees.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven: This Is A Tradition We Will Always Uphold.

I was a wolf again, running through the trees. I was going as fast as I could, heading back to the tree I had ditched my shoes in. I reached it and changed back to human. I dressed quickly and started running for the clearing.

When I got there, the Cullens were explaining how to play baseball to the Amazonians. Nessie saw me and began running in my direction. She kissed me before pressing her hand to my cheek and sharing with me what I had missed. I could tell she had missed me a lot while I was gone. I nuzzled her affectionately to show that I had missed her, too. Even though I could tell her that, I didn't need to. She knew without words being necessary.

I wrapped my arms around her and whispered in her ear, "I love you, sweetheart."

"I love you, too." She whispered back and buried her face into my chest. We stayed like that for a short time until we heard Emmett's voice.

"Ok, let's choose teams. Edward and I are captains." He boomed. "I choose Rosalie."

It ended up that I was on Edward's team with Bella, Nessie, Garrett, Kate, and Zafrina. Everyone else besides Esme and Senna were on Emmett's team. Senna was sitting out and Esme was acting as referee as usual. Edward and Emmett flipped a coin to see who was at bat first.

"Ok, Edward won the coin flip. We will play until the game is over or 2:30, whichever comes first. Batter up!" Esme announced.

"Wait. You forgot. The memorial." Nessie called. She was talking about the tribute to Charlie we started with before every game.

"Oh, right. Everyone follow me, please." Esme called and everyone got up and followed her. She led us to the memorial we set up for Charlie. A picture of him in a waterproof cover was placed on a large, smooth stone. On the stone, Bella had carved Charlie's full name, birth and death dates, and a short inscription. It read, "Here is the place where the world lost a fine police officer, a beloved father, and loving grandfather. We will always remember him." The memorial was in the exact place where Charlie had died.

Carlisle moved to stand beside the stone and faced the rest of us to speak. "I will explain this before we begin the memorial. Ten of us here know why we have gathered here. For the rest of you, listen to the story and you will understand. Right here, ten years ago, we gathered here for a game of baseball. Charlie Swan was with us. He was Bella's father and Nessie's grandfather. He came to watch us play and be with the family. Charlie was human and middle-aged. We got into the game and forgot about him. It was Bella's turn at bat and she hit the ball very far out. Edward and Jacob left the clearing to catch the ball. When Edward got back, he froze in anguish. Jacob was next to him and heard him whisper Charlie's name. Jacob started running toward Charlie, shouting his name. We all ran to Charlie but it was too late to do anything. He had suffered a severe heart attack. All the stress of our world and having his only daughter a vampire with a half human-half vampire daughter of her own finally got to him.

"There was nothing we could do for him even if he would have let us. He refused to let us save him by becoming a vampire himself. Charlie died right here on this very spot July 18th, ten years ago. Now, every time we play baseball here, we pay our respects to Charlie first before we start." As Carlisle spoke, I kept my arms around Nessie. It always made her incredibly sad to hear this story.

I kept one eye on the others as during Carlisle's explanation. The Amazonians clearly had no experience in honoring the dead. They probably had never lost a loved one but the Denali's had. I could tell that they were remembering Irena because Eleazar was holding Carmen and Garrett was comforting Kate and Tanya. I wondered what they did to honor her. The other Cullens looked like they were grieving Charlie's lost. Carlisle stepped away to take his place at Esme's side.

Edward came with Bella when she moved to take Carlisle's place next to the memorial. Edward had a comforting arm around Bella. She looked like she would be crying if she could. Her grief at the loss of her father had not subsided very much in the last ten years. She gained control of herself and started the memorial.

"We are gathered here again to honor my father. This is a tradition we Cullens have upheld for ten years now. Every time we gather in this clearing, we begin here to pay our respects to Charlie. My father will always be remembered by the ten of us here who saw him fall and watched him die. Baseball was always Charlie's favorite sport and it is very appropriate that we have a game here to honor him. We will always remember Charlie in this way. He would be proud and a bit embarrassed to see so many gathered to horror him. My father was a modest man but he loved his family very much. And now, if you will all join hands and form a circle around the memorial please. It is customary that we do this and think of memories of Charlie." Bella gave her speech in a solemn, devoted voice and moved behind the memorial, dragging Edward with her. He was holding her right hand and I was holding her left. On my other side, I held Nessie's hand. We all did what Bella told us and locked hands around the stone.

"Now we shall have a moment of silence to honor Charlie and keep him in our thoughts." Bella announced and we all fell silent. I rubbed my thumb against the back of Nessie's hand as I thought of memories of her grandfather. She squeezed mine as she thought; she would probably share her memories with us later.

"Here is the place where the world lost a fine police officer, a beloved father, and loving grandfather. We will always remember him." Bella said after the moment was over. She raised her head, smiled at us and shouted, "Now, let's play some baseball!"

We all dropped hands and headed for the baseball diamond. It was a really good game. Zafrina was a really good player. She was responsible for five of our eighteen points. We beat Emmett's team fifteen to eighteen in the end. It had been a while since Emmett was on the losing team and I knew he hated it. it was satisfying to watch Emmett angrily punch a large tree to splinters. The man was a raging bull; he really hated losing.

At 2:30 Esme ended the game and we all headed back to the house for cake and my surprise for Nessie. I was nervous about what I was about to do. It was a big step but I was ready. I had the ring, a plan, and the words ready in my head. Not to mention all the love in my heart for my soon to be fiancée. I was ready.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight: Nothing Like A Marriage Proposal To Turn The Women Into Hens And The Men Into Protective Bears.

We were all at the house now and it was 3:00. In eight minutes, Edward would start playing a song he wrote for Nessie. He was already at the piano playing Bella's lullaby. I stayed close to Nessie so I could do it as soon as the song changed. We had already eaten the cake- well, Nessie and I ate the cake. Now, we were listening to Edward play and talking quietly. I was waiting. Every once in a while, Jasper would look over at me. I guess he could feel my nervousness but I didn't pay him any attention.

Finally, the song changed. It was very soft so that I could speak. I cleared my throat.

"I have an announcement. Nessie, are you ready for your birthday present?" I announced, looking at Nessie. She nodded excitedly. I walked her up onto the platform where the piano and Edward was on. Everyone could see us now.

"My beautiful, sweet Nessie. I have loved you since this minute, this hour of this day for twenty years. It was at this time, 3:08 pm, the day you were born that I imprinted on you. I think that it is only appropriate that I do this now." I said and got down on my knee, taking her hands in mine. "Renesmee Carlie Cullen, you are the love of my existence. For you I give my heart. It was yours since the day you were born. Please, make me the happiest man alive and agree to be my wife. Will you marry me?" I asked her, smiling. She was both smiling and crying as we looked into each other's eyes.

"Yes. Yes, I will. I love you, Jacob Black." Nessie squealed. I jumped up and spun her around in my arms. I kissed her passionately. I set her down and pulled the ring box from my pocket saying, "good, because now you can have this." I opened the box and showed it to her.

"Oh, Jacob. It's beautiful. I love it." Nessie chirped.

As I slid the ring onto her finger, I explained, "Ephraim Black had this ring fashioned for the woman he imprinted on. It has been kept in my family since then. The last woman to wear it was my mom. Every woman who has worn it has had long, successful marriages and was blessed with healthy children. I hope we are as lucky." I kissed her hand. Nessie placed her hand on my cheek and showed me my proposal through her eyes. I felt her being overwhelmed with love and happiness. Wrapped my arm around her waist and let her lean against me as everyone swarmed to congratulate us.

"Oh, Oh, OH. Please let me plan your wedding. I have some awesome ideas." Alice was excitedly bouncing up and down in front of us. She probably would have bounced through the roof if Jasper didn't have a restraining hand on her shoulder.

"You can help. I'm sure that Bella and my sister want some input in this. And every decision will be discussed with us." I laid down my conditions. Bella smiled at me, thankful that I had the situation in hand.

"Hey, I did an excellent job planning Edward and Bella's wedding. Thank you very much." Alice yelled at me in mock irritation.

"That's what I heard but I was only at the reception for like twenty minutes, remember? I'm not saying that I doubt your ability to do this. Because I think you can. I'm just saying that you can't have free rein. We want the other women in the family to be in on the planning, too. Is that so much to ask?" I asked in a teasing, pleading voice. I grinned at her then pouted a little which earned a laugh from some people.

"No, I guess not. We have to run the plans by the two of you?" Alice asked, defeated.

"Yep. Every decision goes through us." I told her, giving Nessie a squeeze.

"Wow. This is some birthday present. It's the best I've ever gotten. I don't think I've ever been happier than right now." Nessie chimed. I bent down to kiss her again and she giggled.

"Ok. All of this emotion is giving me a headache. I'm very happy for you both, just like everyone else, but can we please play another game? Before my head explodes?!" Jasper hollered as he rubbed his head.

"Let's see the ring!" Esme shouted as she reached for Nessie's hand. All the females in the room went into a titter over that. They yanked Nessie from the platform and surrounded her.

"You sure know how to get the hens clucking, Jacob." Garrett whispered to me, chuckling.

"Then let's leave, guys. Seriously, I can't take it." Jasper begged. Edward gave him a pointed look and nodded. The seven of us guys went out to the backyard.

"So, you guys gonna throw me a bachelor party?" I joked, wondering what vampires did for their bachelor parties. Human men usually went to strip clubs and drank all night. Or at least that's what Paul did for his. I don't really want to do that. It doesn't sound appealing to me, really. Why would I want cubic zirconium when I already have a diamond? I stopped laughing when no one joined in. I looked at them to see what was going on. They were in a loose line in front of me with their arms folded across their chests. They all looked really serious and it made me uneasy.

"We would like to talk to you, Jacob. Just us men." Edward explained. He gestured to the others. Edward was at the center of the line with Carlisle, Emmett, and Garrett on one side and Jasper and Eleazar on the other. This was a line of the father, grandfather, uncles, and cousins of my fiancée and I was the guy trying to steal her.

"Sure, sure. I probably should have seen this coming." I said as evenly as I could. I tried to look at ease as I slumped against a tree.

"I know that we are all really happy for you and my daughter. We all love her very much and-" Edward said before he was interrupted.

"Don't screw up and break her heart or we will break you." Emmett threatened me. I saw the muscles of his arms flex as he started toward me menacingly, but Edward caught him. He shook his head and Emmett took his place in the line again, scowling.

"There is no chance that I could ever hurt Nessie. You all know that." I told them.

"We do know that. We are all married men." Carlisle said, gesturing to himself and the others in the line. "We have all had wives for at least nineteen years so we have experience."

That was true. The most recent of them to be married was Garrett. He had married Kate after living with her and the other Denali's for a year. I had gone with the Cullens to the wedding. Garrett was now a member of the family and had given up human blood for Kate and settled down with her.

"Thanks. I'll ask if I want advice." I told them. I wanted to be done with this uncomfortable talk.

"There's one more thing, Jacob." Edward told me. "We want to impress upon you what you have. I'm sure you know that Nessie is very special. She's the only daughter I will ever have. We can all agree that we all love her and want to protect her. Everyone here is willing to die for her. Please, take care of her." His face was so serious and I knew that he was thinking of Nessie as he made the subtle threat. All the men were completely serious about my fiancée's safety.

"I know how you all feel about her. I feel the same way. I love her with everything I have. For my love, I would give my own life. She is everything to me and I would kill anything that tried to harm her. No one is going to hurt her as long as I'm around. I promise you that. Even if I didn't love her as much as I do, I would protect her because she is my best friend's daughter." I didn't really know how they would react to that but Edward and Carlisle smiled and Jasper nodded his head. Then someone who I never thought would spoke up.

"Edward, let me talk to the boy in private please." Garrett requested as he looked at Edward then looked back at me. That surprised me because he had never even been willing to have a decent conversation with me in public. I think I make him nervous because even though I wouldn't, Garrett knows that I could kill both him and Kate if I wanted to.

Edward looked at me so I nodded. I was curious about what Garrett wanted to talk about. This should be interesting.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine: A Pleasant Conversation Interrupted. I Should Have Seen This Coming.

I walked with Garrett a little away from the house. He was quite for a few minutes. The he stopped and turned to me. I stopped and stared at him, waiting for him to speak.

"Jacob, I wanted to give you some advice. I was the most recent to join the family and get married. I am eternally grateful to your fiancée." Garrett said solemnly.

I thought about that for a minute. I unconsciously smiled at his meaning. "I guess I can see why. If Nessie had not been born to cause conflict with the Volturi, you would have never met Kate. I can see why you would be grateful." I murmured.

He nodded and said, "yes. She brought me to Kate. Being apart of this family is my favorite part of life. It will be different for you, though."

"I know. I'm not a vampire. I will never completely fit in with this family." I sighed at that.

"No, that is not what I meant. They have already claimed you. Bella claimed you as part of her family long before the others did. I simply meant that you have waiting a long time for this. You deserve it. I had to earn my place in the family. You are already a member." Garrett told me.

I let his words sink in. they were true. Bella had wished that I were her brother. She had always thought of us as family. The rest of the Cullens accepted me soon after Nessie was born. I guess I was part of the family.

"Thanks Garrett. Is that all you wanted to talk about?" I asked. I wanted to get back to nessie, my fiancée. I smiled at the thought.

I watched the sandy-haired vampire as he replied, "I just have one question: how were you able to wait twenty years for your beloved? She was fully matured when she was seven and yet you waited. A commendable feat but how and why did you do it?" he stared incredulously at me as I thought about how to answer.

"I wanted to be respectful of Edward and Bella. Yes, I could have asked for her hand when she was seven. I probably would have made Bella murderously angry. You should have seen her reaction when she found out I had imprinted on her daughter." I snorted before doing a decent imitation of Bella, "_How dare you imprint on my baby! She is mine, stay away from her. _So I gave them time to have her as just their daughter. Bella is my best friend and I owe them that. I wanted to make them all happy so I gave them some time." I told garret. I could hear the others in the house talking. They were planning the rest of the evening.

"Very impressive, Jacob. I can respect that." The sandy-haired vampire mused.

"I would have done the same thing if I had imprinted on a normal human. I would have waited until the object of my imprint was twenty anyways. I wanted her to have a normal life first. Or as normal as she can have it." I smiled. Has never and will never be normal but I could try to make it that way.

"So I suppose Edward and Bella are ok with this. You marrying their daughter, I mean."

"Bella was thrilled when I asked for their permission this morning. Edward not so much at first." I told him.

"I wonder why Edward reacted that way. He seems to like you a lot. Called you his son when you were getting ready to run away with nessie from the fight." Garrett pondered.

I shrugged. " I guess fathers are like that with their daughters. He's ok with it now. Edward is just that way. He wants to protect the people he loves and knows that I really do love his daughter."

Garrett was bout to say something but his words were drowned out by a howl. The first was followed by three other howls. They were close, maybe two miles away from the house. If that. It could only mean one thing: four wolves were coming! And there were sixteen vampires here. This had to mean trouble!


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten: That's Great. A Damned Overreaction!

I ran back to the house to warn the others about the wolves. I didn't have much time; they will be here soon.

"Nessie, honey. Please stay here. I don't know what they want but I need to find out." I shouted at her as I ran to the front door. Everyone was tense and alert, some looking confused.

"Jacob, what's going on?" she asked, worried. "I don't understand. It's just the pack."

"I know. I just want to know why they are here." I told her more calmly. I didn't want to frighten her but those howls didn't sound friendly.

"Daddy, uncle Jasper, uncle Emmett, please go with him just in case." Nessie had obviously heard the stress in my voice. I stopped and faced her.

"That isn't necessary. I'm still an alpha. They wouldn't dare hurt me." I told her as I stared into her lovely eyes.

"I would still feel better if you didn't go alone. Please, for me. I want you to be safe." She said as her arms pulled me closer to her.

"Okay, just stay here. Stay safe. I love you." I conceded as I bent down to kiss her.

"I love you too. Come back as soon as you can." She whispered into my chest.

"I will." I promised her. "Lets go guys." I yelled and turned to the door. Edward, Emmett, and Jasper kissed their wives before following me.

I whipped my clothes off and phased. Immediately, I heard voices. Four separate voices greeted me.

_Jake, buddy. What took you so long?_ Quil thought.

_Yeah, we thought you would have phased as soon as you heard us._ Leah said, slightly exasperated.

_What's going on?_ I asked

_We just wanted to see you._ Seth answered, cheerful as always.

_Sorry we scared you. No need for the vampire bodyguards._ Embry chortled.

_How did you know I was here?_ I asked them, ignoring Embry's comment.

_Don't you always come back here on this date every year?_ Seth asked. He was enjoying this.

_That and Paul told us._ Leah added.

_So what was with the howling? I was nervous about a possible attack._ I scolded them.

_Why would we do that?_ Quil wondered.

_Please, Jacob, do you really think we would attach you? You are just as much my brother as Seth is._ Leah responded angrily.

I was really looking at their thoughts now. They had three humans with them. What the hell was going on?

_Why the hell do you have humans with you? There are traditional vampires at the Cullen house you idiots!_ I yelled at them.

_Really?_ Seth asked, shocked.

_We didn't know that. We weren't planning to take them to the house anyway. That is too much a risk with the ones we love._ Leah thought. As she said the last part, she rubbed her nose on the shoulder of the human man.

I was in the clearing with them now. Edward and Emmett both had a hand on Jasper. He was antsy as he resisted the urges to attack the wolves and bite the humans. He hadn't fed in a while and he still had iffy self-control sometimes. Edward's other hand was on my shoulder.

_Why don't we phase to human? The humans look a little freaked. _I asked, evaluating the humans. _Then you can introduce me to them._

I could hear their hesitation but they agreed and trotted into the woods. The humans followed them. They each carried a bundle of clothes.

"Here, I picked up your clothes." Edward said. I nodded and phased to human.

"Thanks. At least one of you need to go back to the house to explain what is going on." I told them as I pulled on my clothes.

"What_ is_ going in?" Jasper and Emmett asked at the same time. It was almost comical combined with their exasperated impatience.

"Leah, Quil, Embry, and Seth just wanted to see me and I overreacted to their howls. Everything is cool. No one is attacking and no one will." I told them.

"Emmett, why don't you go back and relay the message." Edward suggested. "You can come back after if you want." He tacked on after seeing Emmett's fierce expression.

"You bet I'll be back in two minutes." Emmett growled and shot into the trees. His loyalty was something I still had trouble understanding. I guess he really liked me. Or knew that if I died, Nessie would be torn apart with grief.

Edward, Jasper and I watched as four wolves reentered the clearing in human form, fully dressed. The three humans followed close. This should be a pleasant reunion.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven: Reunions, Reconnecting, and Some Pretty Unbelieveable Stuff Too! Could Life Get More Complicated? Apparently It Can Because It Just Did!

"So are you guys going to introduce me to the humans you brought? You all remember Edward and Jasper, right? Do they know about all this?" I asked, making hand gestures toward who I was speaking about.

"That can wait for a minute. We missed you Jake." Quil said and strode forward to hug me.

As I hugged Quil, Seth came and hugged Edward. "Hey man. How's it going? Hope Bella and Nessie are ok."

"Hello Seth. It's good to see you. Yes, everything and everyone are fine. Thank you. I see you aren't alone anymore." Edward said, gesturing to the girl behind Seth.

"I guess it's time for introductions. Quil, you first." Leah sighed.

"Ok. The three humans here are people we imprinted on. Its been a while since you've seen her but I'm sure you remember Claire." Quil said to me and took Claire's hand. I blinked, confused. The last time I had seen Claire, she was in her awkward puberty phase. I guess she must be twenty-three now. She was very pretty, thin, and was radiating joy.

"Wow. Claire, is that really you?" I asked in disbelief.

"Yep. Hey Jake. It's great to see you. I wanted to come and let you know the good news." She said as she wrapped her arms around my waist.

"It's great to see you too. What good news?" I asked her as I pushed her away to look at her. She smiled widely up at me then moved to stand next to Quil. Claire wrapped her arm around him and he held her to his chest.

"Claire and I are getting married in two months. Will you be my best man, Jake?" Quil announced with a huge smile.

"Wow. Congratulations. Sure, I'll be your best man, Quil. I wish Nessie were here so we could give you our good news." I told them.

"You got your wish. Here I am." Nessie trilled as she bounded to my side.

"Nessie, what are you doing here? I thought I asked you to stay at the house." She just smiled at me.

"Since when do I ever do anything I don't want to do?" she said playfully. "Uncle Emmett told me what was going on so Momma and I came to see the wolves. So what did we miss?" she asked and took my hand. Bella had now entered the clearing and was taking her place next to Edward. Emmett was not far behind her.

"Quil and Claire were just sharing their good news with us. Nessie, you remember Claire." I gestured to them.

Nessie looked mystified. "Claire? Is that really you?" she asked as she stared, wide eyed, at Claire. She nodded and smiled at Nessie. "Oh my gosh, Claire. Look at you. You're so pretty. I'm so glad to see you!" Nessie squealed before running forward to hug Claire.

"I'm happy to see you too. Wow, you haven't changed a bit. I'm not nearly as pretty as you are. I'm full human and you have vampire beauty." Claire replied as she and Nessie hugged.

Quil interjected than. "You're beautiful, Claire. The most beautiful woman to me." Claire let go of Nessie and went to kiss Quil.

"You are so sweet. It's why I'm marrying you." Claire said in a loving voice.

"What? You guys are getting married? When?" Nessie asked quickly. She looked extremely excited.

"yes, we are getting married in two months." Claire replied.

"I was just asking Jake to be my best man." Quil started.

"And I would love for you to be one of my brides maids, Nessie." Claire finished.

"I would be honored. It just so happens that Jacob and I are getting married, too." Nessie told them and came to wrap her arms around me.

"I proposed to her about an hour ago. Same exact time, place, and date that I imprinted on her." I told them as I held Nessie. The clearing was filled with the sound of them congratulating us.

"Awe, that is so romantic." I heard the other human girl sigh.

I looked at her for a moment. She was short; nearly three feet shorter than me. Her skin was pale, clearly not a member of the local Indian tribes. She had long, brown hair that draped down her shoulders and back. Her round face was stretched into a wide grin. A pair of glasses obscured her brown eyes. She was pretty and also the youngest person in the clearing. The girl couldn't be older than eighteen and she was perfectly comfortable with Seth holding her hand in her left side and Emmett two feet away on her right.

"So, Seth. Are you going to introduce the human you brought?" I asked him after a minute. Everyone went quiet at my question; Nessie and the other vampires must be just as curious as I am.

"Sure. Everyone, this is Amanda, the girl I imprinted on." He turned to her and smiled. He had that familiar 'man seeing the sun for the first time' look on his face as he watched her.

"Sup, gangsters." Amanda said to us in a cool voice, like mythical creatures didn't surround her. "Hmm, I bet I can figure out who everyone is on my own, Seth." She let go of Seth's hand and stepped toward me. "You must be Jacob. I mean 'Most High Alpha'. Cool." She joked. I couldn't help but laugh with her.

"Yeah. I guess I'm not surprised Seth imprinted on someone like you. A sense of humor, always smiling and I bet you don't really care what I think of you; perfect for him." I told her. There was something about her that said 'I'm totally confident with who I am so don't waste your time trying to bring me down.' I already liked her for that.

She smiled widely and said, "Thanks, Alpha dog." She turned to Nessie then. "And you must be the halfer."

"The what?" Nessie and I said together.

She laughed, "Isn't that cool that you are so in sync that you can do that. Seth and I do that sometimes too; say the same thing at the same time. But anyway, moving on. The halfer. Half human, half vampire, Nessie. You almost got my Seth and the other wolves killed twenty years ago." She clarified.

Nessie looked remorseful and guilty. It was kind of cute to watch her dig the toe of her shoe in the dirt and hang her head. "Twice, actually. Sorry 'bout that. It was unintentional." She said in a small voice.

Amanda shrugged. "No big deal. He's alive and that's what matters. Besides, my mom wouldn't want me to be mad at the daughter of one of her closest friends." She turned to Bella and added, "My mom talks about you every now and then. She misses you."

"I know your mother? Who? Who are you?" Bella asked, bewildered.

I heard Edward's breath catch as he read Amanda's thoughts. No one paid him any attention because we were focused on Amanda.

"You're Bella, aren't you? Married to Edward Cullen, right?" she pointed to Edward as she said his name and they both nodded. "Let's see. Emmett is the dark, curly headed vamp. But which one is blondo? Probably Jasper, right?" she asked and they nodded.

"How do you know that?" Bella asked in disbelief.

"Some of it from my parents, a bit from Seth. Where's Alice? Mom liked her a lot too. She said Alice was interesting to sit next to at lunch. Dad always had her help him in French class." Amanda said in a matter of fact tone. I still didn't have enough information to guess at her parentage.

"Holy crow!" Bella yelled. "Angela and Ben. Amanda Cheney?" Bella continued to stare at Amanda. I guess she was looking for similarities to her old friends.

"Yep. Amanda Isabella Cheney is my name. Mom says you were her closest friend in high school. You gave her the courage to marry dad two years after you married Edward. They had me not even two years after they got married. I'm sixteen and I have a little brother, Brandon Edward Cheney, who's thirteen." She said as Bella stared dumbfounded at her. Bella looked over at Edward but caught my eye and read my expression.

"Amanda, why don't you and I go somewhere else to talk? I'm sure Jacob wants to see everyone else." Bella suggested pointedly.

Sure, later Jacob. Seth, Edward, you guys coming with?" Amanda asked. Seth followed immediately.

Edward turned to me. _Everything is fine. Jasper and Emmett can go back to the house. We'll be fine._ I thought at him. He nodded in agreement than turned to Jasper and Emmett. He inclined his head toward to house, a gesture of dismissal, and they left. Edward followed Bella, Seth, and Amanda into the woods. I turned my attention to the last human stranger.

It was a man. He was tall, just a head shorter than me. He had deep brown skin and high cheekbones. He was obviously a member of a surrounding tribe but not Quileut. I wondered who he was. I was pretty sure Leah had imprinted on him but I had to ask.

"So, the last human is a man. Either Embry's other half is a male or Leah was wrong. Which is it?" I joked with them. Embry snorted in annoyance.

Leah stepped forward and said, "I was wrong. On more than one thing." She placed her hands on her round stomach in a familiar way and my mouth dropped open.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve: Leah's Imprint Story. Totally Crazy But That's What Being A Wolf Means.

Leah had her hands folded over her stomach exactly the way Bella had when she was pregnant.

"Oh my god! How? Who? When?" I spluttered. I was so stunned.

Leah reached behind her for the male's hand. "This is David. I met him twelve years ago. I had run around as a wolf for a while after all the weddings and after you left. I came back to visit a friend in the Makah tribe when I heard that she had had her first child. I went to get her some things from the store one day. The bottom of one of the bags I was carrying fell out as I was going back to her house. I bent to pick everything up when a hand reached out to pick the container of baby formula up that was rolling away from me."

David spoke for the first time. "I had seen her walking and stopped to watch. She was beautiful. I was trying to find a way to talk to her when her bag broke. It was the perfect opening. I went to help her."

Leah continued the story then. "I looked up to see who was helping me only to drop what little I had picked up. The moment I looked into his eyes, nothing else mattered. The things that had mattered to me before, the pack, my friends, my mom and my brother, my life, it was all meaningless compared to him. This helpful stranger had me. I had imprinted on him, something I never thought I would do." She turned to David and looked lovingly into his eyes. He smiled at her with just as much love in his eyes.

"So you weren't bothered that Leah is a wolf? David, you must either be really brave or really crazy." I commented.

David chuckled. "Maybe a little of both. I don't know. I was taken by her from the moment I first laid eyes on her and I couldn't deny that. It was a year after I met her that I found out that she was a werewolf." He paused under my stare. I watched him in disbelief for a second. I was frozen where I stood; the shock of new information left me at a standstill.

"How did you find out? What did you do, David? Please continue." Nessie had a tenor of curiosity in her voice.

"I was twenty-two and in love with Leah. I was ready to settle down with her so I went out and bought an engagement ring. I was on my way to her house when I saw a large, gray wolf. It was headed in the same direction so I hurried to get to Leah and warn her. Apparently, I was downwind and Leah was occupied because she didn't notice me. The wolf ran behind the little cottage Leah lived in. she wasn't home but I didn't want her to come home while the wolf was around. I watched as the wolf ran around the cottage to the back, stand up on its hind legs and turn into the girl I love. Scared the hell out of me." David seemed perfectly at ease now.

"What were you doing, Leah? How did you not notice David there?" I asked her.

"I was coming back from La Push that day. We were doing sort of a family reunion. All the wolves were there, except for you, Jacob. Everyone knew about David and they were angry that I hadn't told him the truth yet. I had been struggling with the right way to tell the man I love that the woman he loves is a giant wolf. Jared yelled at me the whole way back to my cottage through the mind link. I just wanted to be human again so I wouldn't have to hear them anymore. I was careless and eager to escape them. As soon as I reached my backyard, I phased. I heard a gasp from behind me and there was David. He was staring at me as I stood there naked, wide eyed with shock and fear." Leah bowed her head in shame, as if she had done something terrible.

David wrapped his arms around Leah in a gesture of comfort before continuing. "I demanded that she tell me what was going on and what she was. Leah explained everything to me. Being a Makah, I had heard the legends of the Cold ones and the Quileut wolves but I had never believed them until that day. As a child, I thought it would have been cool to meet one of the wolf-men but never suspected I would fall in love with a wolf girl. I decided it was cool and that I loved Leah no matter what she is. We got married a few months after that. Been married for over ten years now." David beamed and put a hand on Leah's pregnant stomach. "This is our third child. We have an eight year old son and a four year old daughter at home."

I stood there for a minute, dumbfounded. There were so many questions I wanted to ask. Leah's imprint story was something else. It wasn't nearly as crazy as mine though. This wolf thing was the craziest concept you could ever imagine. Apparently, they were all waiting for me to speak but I couldn't remember how to.

"Jacob, close your mouth. You look like a gaping fish." Leah snapped after a minute of my stunned silence.

"Sorry. Too much information at once; Gave me a brain overload. Don't get me wrong. I'm happy everything worked out but, Leah. I told you that you were wrong about imprinting. I knew that was ridiculous." I was happy to tell her that.

"What?" David and Nessie said at the same time. They wanted an explanation to my comment so I turned to Nessie.

"It was the day before you were born, honey. Leah and I were doing recon to make sure it was ok for the vampires to leave and go hunt. She was going through my mental images of Bella and Rosalie. See, they were protecting you even though you were killing Bella. I thought Rosalie just wanted a baby and was willing to sacrifice Bella so she could have one. Those two were the only ones who referred to you as the 'baby'. You were either the fetus or the abomination to everyone else." I explained before she interrupted me.

"So what did you call me before I was born?" she asked, slightly annoyed.

"Don't take it like that. We didn't know what you were and you were killing your mother. If you had been in my shoes, you wouldn't have liked you either." I tried to ease her. She gave me a pointed look that said 'answer the question'. I sighed. "You were the spawn of a demon killing the girl I loved. You are the girl I love now. You are my entire world."

"Ok, I accept that. Continue the explanation." She allowed.

"I got ticked when Leah said she could understand Rosalie's explanation for helping Bella. It was Bella's only chance for a kid. Leah explained that she would do the same if Bella had asked her for help. She didn't believe that she would ever imprint or have a child of her own. Called herself a biological dead-end." I smirked at Leah as I said the last part.

"Well, at the time, I was." Leah frowned like she didn't want to explain but did anyway. "As soon as I imprinted on David, my system started up again. It was waiting for him. I didn't think I would ever have a child of my own and now I'm expecting my third. That is more than I ever expected."

"That is so sweet. When are you due, Leah?" Nessie asked sweetly.

Leah's expression warmed and her hands folded over her rotund stomach tenderly. "Just a month after Quil and Claire's wedding. Carlisle is helping me because I can't go to a normal hospital. Just like with my first two."

"How come I wasn't told about this? If I had known, I would have come back." I said as I let my brow crumple in a frown.

"Couldn't reach you, of course. Carlisle said you were in Mexico at the time." Leah replied.

"You missed a lot. You should have been here." Embry said sullenly.

"Sorry, I guess I have lost touch with you all." I apologized.

"Ya think?" Embry folded his arms over his chest.

"What's with you? Look, I'm sorry I left you guys. What's up, man? Talk to me." I tried to reason with him.

" I got nothing, ok? You have Nessie, Quil has Claire. Even Collin and the younger wolves have an imprint. I have no one. I don't even have my mother anymore." Embry yelled at me.

" Hey, easy, man. Why don't you come back with us to the Cullen's place? We can catch up. Nessie and I need to get back to her party. You look like you could use a good party." I offered. I hoped he would take it.

"Yeah, fine. Whatever." He bit out.

"We have to be getting back home. Later, guys." Leah said.

"Nice meeting you." David said and followed Leah into the woods.

"Come on, Embry." I said and lead him into the woods.

A minute later, Nessie had our clothes in bundles and embry and I were wolves again. We headed back to the house. On the way, I sifted through Embry's memories and saw that his mom had died a year ago. He really was alone.


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: I know I've been off for a while and I'm really sorry about but I hope to be post more soon. I'm working on new chapters for all of my stories and here's the first that I'm done with. Enjoy and I'll post more as soon as I can.

Emeralda Violeta

Chapter Thirteen: What's With All The Questions? I Never Wanted to Think About Most Of These. Thank You Very Much, Embry!

As we ran back to the Cullen Place with Nessie on my shoulders and Embry beside me, I got the low-down on Embry's life since I left the pack. His mom died two years ago but not before she wrote him a letter to tell him who his father was. Embry hadn't had the heart to read it. Guess it doesn't really matter so much since whoever's name is written in it is dead. He'd taken over running the Store and lived in his house by himself now. Embry was also one of the only wolves that haven't imprinted yet. I felt bad for the guy.

_You can hang with us tonight if you want. We're still celebrating Nessie's birthday. It'll be fun._ I thought to him.

_Party with the vampires. Sure, it'll be a blast._ He agreed, completely sincere.

When we got to Casa De Cullen, the downstairs lights blazed but no one was there but Bella and Edward. Where was everyone else? I knew that the safest place around Forks was the Cullen house, with it's steel shutters and reinforced security. They wouldn't leave if they were worried about an attack. So where did they go?

"The others are out getting ready to play another game." Edward said when we all finally came in. he probably already knew why Embry was with us.

"Nessie, why don't you take Embry upstairs and show him to a bathroom." I said casually, knowing Edward and Bella wanted to tell me something. She nodded and led Embry upstairs, his nose wrinkled in disgust at the vampire stench.

"So how did it go with Seth and Amanda?" I asked. Wondering how much her parents knew.

"Amanda invited us to a party tomorrow. I can't wait to see Angela. It's been too long since I saw her." Bella said reminiscently. Angela was the human friend Bella missed the most.

"Ben and Angela don't know we're vampires. But they know a bit about werewolves." Edward added for my benefit.

They'd have to if they're daughter is tied to one. "Are you going to tell them about yourselves." I asked, curious. Charlie hadn't taken it well but maybe these humans would. Doubt it though.

"Maybe, only if it's necessary though. I don't want to put them in danger. But they also have another daughter Amanda didn't mention until it was just us." Edward said, grabbing Bella's hand.

"Really? Huh, that's something." I said, wondering what the importance was.

"Ariana has never been around any of the wolves but Seth. She doesn't know much so it's important to be careful about what you say around her." Bella said with a conspiratorial grin I didn't understand.

"She'll have to get used to it if her sister is with a wolf. Especially if you plan on inviting them to the wedding." I said with a smile. Thinking about the happiest day of my life made me beam.

"Yes, we want to invite them to the wedding. They're practically family." Bella said with a loving smile.

I scratched my head, thinking. "Yeah, I guess they are. Nessie will be thrilled to have a big wedding."

"Speaking of that," Embry's voice came from the stairs behind me. He had a smile on his face. " I never congratulated you guys. I'm really happy for you both. Should be some event."

"Yeah. Been in the making for a while." I said as Nessie skipped to my side and I wrapped my arms around her. I'd been thinking about something awhile and now was a good a time as ever to talk about it. "Embry, I need to ask you something."

"What's up, Jake?" he asked, a good amount of curiosity in his tone.

"I want you to be my best man." I said still in a casual tone. Like we were discussing the weather or something.

"Really? But what about Quil?" he asked like I might be joking.

"Sure. I'm Quil's best man so it's only fair that you're mine. We want you in our wedding." I said and squeezed my fiancée who was smiling and nodding vigorously.

"Well, I dunno. I might be busy that day." Embry said, playing around. I recognized his tone from so many years of hearing it and played along.

"If you don't want to, I can always get someone else." I played back, rubbing my neck with my free hand. Maybe Seth or Jared. I know. Emmett would be thrilled to do it, huh Nessie."

"No way are you replacing me with a vampire. No offense. I'll take the job." Embry announced. I knew he would do that.

"Chill, dude. Just messing with you. You're like a brother to me and would never dream of replacing you." I said, laughing at his tweaked expression.

"I actually might be your brother. You never know." Embry said with a shrug.

"So when do you want to read that letter from your mom? Before or after the weddings? I asked, not wanting to pry too much.

"I guess as soon as possible." Embry shrugged again. "But I have a question for you."

"Shoot."

"Remember how Leah thought she was a biological dead-end? I was just wondering about that with Nessie." He said uneasily. Edward growled quietly behind me.

"Excuse me? What's that supposed to mean?" I had the feeling I should be a little angry. I held Nessie to me tighter.

"I mean, can Nessie even have kids with you? What's the point of imprinting if you do it with someone who cant pass on the wolf gene?" Embry reasoned and I wanted to bite his head off for thinking about my Nessie like that.

"You think Nessie won't be able to have kids? Ugh, why would you even be thinking about that, Embry?" I said, disgusted. That is _my fiancée_ he's thinking that about. What's wrong with him?

"Easy guys. She is half vampire. There's a chance she wont be able to. I just think you should be prepared if it turns out the vampire is in that part of he biology." Embry said logically, raising his hands defensively. I hadn't noticed until now that Nessie was making a very angry face and Bella and Edward were outraged. Until they heard Embry's explanation, that is.

"It is a possibility but I think it's unlikely that my daughter is infertile. Her mother wasn't and apparently neither am I." Edward almost joked. Then squeezed Bella, who giggled.

"It doesn't matter to me if we never have a single kid. So long as I have my Nessie, I'm happy." I said fervently.

"Aww, Jake. That's so sweet." Nessie said and gave me a kiss. I kissed her back, caressing her mouth.

"Does that count toward my total, honey?" I asked teasingly when we ended the kiss. I had promised her twenty kisses today.

"No. You still owe me eight kisses by the way." She answered playfully.

I took her perfect face in my hands and rubbed her smooth cheek with my thumb. My skin looked so dark against the creamy pink of hers. Those eyes she stared at me with were so very familiar to me since I'd stared at them before she was born, from two other faces. I'd stared into them when Bella had them and I thought I loved her. And in Charlie's when he was talking serious to me. Nessie was the face I loved them in best.

My lips pressed softly to hers. I was gentle as my lips caressed hers. They were so sweet, sweeter than any other; not that I had kissed any other girls. Then Nessie wound her fingers in my hair and pulled my face closer, like she couldn't get enough of me. I didn't mind.

What I minded was the fake retching coming from Embry. I pulled away and growled at him a little. Do you mind? Trying to kiss my fiancée here." I snapped at him.

"Not something I need to see dude. Seriously." Embry sounded extremely uncomfortable.

"I agree. Why don't we go find the others?" Edward suggested uneasily. I guess he didn't like seeing his daughter molded to me the way she was. Oh well.

Nessie grimaced, about to protest but I whispered in her ear, "later, honey." Then I said to the rest of them, "ok, let's go play some games."


End file.
